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The Ask Nick mailbag makes its debut for the 2004 season this week, as Globe football writer Nick Cafardo answers your questions about the Patriots. Click here to sumbit a question for next week ...

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Welcome back. I missed the mailbag tremendously. I notice that many sports writers harp on the fact that Brady, Seymour, and some others make less money than comparable players around the league. I would like to see an article about the Patriots players who make more money than comparable players around the league. I am assuming that the middle and lower end players on the Patriots make more money than their counterparts because the Patriots spend to the limit. The money is going to somebody. Also, the next time you write that Brady or Seymour desire more money, can you please let us know what players you think the Patriots should release or restructure to get the extra money to do this?
Tom, Worcester

A: The only player I can think of who's at the top of the charts money wise is Ty Law. All the others are at below or at market. Matt Light, for instance, just signed a middle of the road deal for a left tackle because he was happy to stay here and wants to finish his career here. Most of the middle-to-low end players have minimal contracts. I think what the Patriots do better than any other team is they have more veteran players (the Roman Phifers) who are willing to accept either the minimum or close to the veteran minimum to be on a team that could make it to the Super Bowl. As far as Brady or Seymour go, they'll have to make tough decisions on both I'm guessing at the end of the year. You have to pay Brady.

In Cleveland Belichick was a goat, reviled and despised. Now he is loved and almost universally acknowledged as a genius. I get the feeling if you asked him what he's doing differently, he would probably just say "winning". But, I think the question is a valid one: How has Belichick changed over the years? What did he learn during the Cleveland years and how has he applied those lessons to his New England tenure. Also, are there any current "re-tread" coaches who are making the same mistakes as they did in their previous jobs. Possible example -- Coughlin in NY? Is his tough-fisted, rules-rules-rules approach going to wear thin in a few seasons as it did in Jacksonville?
Ed, Natick

A: Great question Ed. I addressed this earlier but I think he's a better GM now than he was then. He had a young Mike Lombardi making personnel calls in Cleveland, and while Mike has really grown and now does a fine job in Oakland, Belichick now has Scott Pioli out there making recommendations along with a fine scouting staff. I'm not willing to say that he has better coaches here than he did in Cleveland because he had guys like Nick Saban over there, but I think he definitely has out more faith in his assistants to do the job. I think he's completed what he started in Cleveland, but was never able to consummate because the team moved to Baltimore and he was fired. I think he's also a much different guy in how he handles veteran players. He takes care of them here; making sure that they're not worn out. He keeps a close eye on them in that regard which is why he does so much platooning. I think also he was able to go back with Bill Parcells after Cleveland and really fine-tune things. Who's making the same mistakes now? One guy who comes to mind is Butch Davis. I don't include Coughlin because I really believe that Giants team needs that firm hand and it seems they're responding well to him now.   Continued...